If you have a lively, enthusiastic crowd at the baby shower, they may be willing to play some action games. Some take a bit more energy than others, but all of them are a hoot.

Feeding Time

This one is a lot of fun, but it can get messy. Have some towels or napkins handy.

Divide your guests into pairs. One at a time, have each pair sit facing each other wearing bibs and blindfolds, while the other teams watch and cheer (or heckle!) Give each team member a small jar of applesauce and a spoon. When you say go, the couples try to feed each other the applesauce without peeking.

Use a timer to determine the winning team – the winners can either be the team that has the least amount of applesauce left when time's up, or the team that gets rid of all the applesauce the quickest. Don't forget to take pictures!

Bottle Chugging

Give each guest a baby bottle and fill it with milk, juice, water, or even beer (for guests who aren't pregnant). Have everyone line up, and when you shout, "Go!" The players have to drink the liquid as quickly as they can – through the nipple. (No unscrewing the top allowed!)

Whoever finishes first is the winner. This game is especially entertaining if you're throwing a coed shower.

Spit the Binky

Have your guests line up and give each one a pacifier to put in her mouth. The goal of the game is to spit out the binky with gusto so it lands as far away as possible. Whoever spits the binky the farthest wins a prize.

Bottle Bowling

Set up 10 baby bottles the way bowling pins are arranged (in a triangle shape with one in the first row, two in the second, and so on). Make sure you have a good "lane" of open space leading up to the bottles. Give guests a tennis ball and have them take turns bowling to knock down the bottles. Whoever has the best score wins a prize.

Baby Picasso

Give each guest a sheet of paper and a crayon or pen. Have them all close their eyes and try their best to draw a baby. The mom-to-be picks her favorite, and that person wins a prize.

Balloon Belly

Blow up a bunch of small balloons and have your guests try to stuff as many under their shirt as possible to mimic an expectant mom's pregnant belly. Whoever can fit the most wins.

Toss and Shout

Have your guests stand in a circle. Give one of them a baby doll and ask her to toss it to someone else. The person who catches the doll has to quickly shout out something baby-related – like "stroller!" or "bottle!" – then toss the doll to someone else.

This should go on until a guest calls out something that's already been said or pauses for more than a few seconds. That person is out, and the game continues. Whoever's left standing at the end is the winner.

Diaper Designer

Split your guests into teams and give each one a roll of toilet paper. Have each team "diaper" one of its members with the toilet paper as quickly as possible. No pins or other tools are allowed! The team to finish first wins.

Baby Changing Relay

Divide your guests into relay teams. Hand each team a doll that's wearing a diaper, dressed in baby clothes, and swaddled in a blanket.

Shout, "Go!" and have the first player on each team unwrap the blanket and pass the doll to the second person. That player undresses the baby and passes it to the third person who changes the diaper. The next person dresses the doll, and the next wraps it in the baby blanket.

You can start the process over again until each person on a team has had a chance to do one step. Whichever team finishes first wins.

Variation: Instead of doing this as a team relay race, have each guest take a turn going through the entire process of diapering, dressing, and swaddling the baby. Time each person and record how long it took. Whoever's speediest is the winner.

Back and Forth Birth Story

Arrange your guests in a circle and give a wrapped prize to one person. Read the following story aloud and have the guests pass the prize in the appropriate direction whenever they hear the words "left" or "right."

The prize will move around a lot! Whoever has the prize last gets to open and keep it. The story:

Mr. WRIGHT jumped into action. It was time to take Mrs. WRIGHT RIGHT to the hospital – she was in labor! He LEFT the house, got in the car, and turned RIGHT out of the driveway. But he had to go RIGHT back home because he'd LEFT Mrs. WRIGHT behind. They both got in the car on the LEFT side, as the RIGHT side door wouldn't open.

Mr. and Mrs. WRIGHT again LEFT for the hospital, turning RIGHT out of the driveway. They argued about the RIGHT turn, as Mrs. WRIGHT said that Mr. WRIGHT should have turned LEFT. Mr. WRIGHT kept insisting that he was absolutely RIGHT, but Mrs. WRIGHT kept insisting that the best way to the hospital was to the LEFT.

Two blocks away, after another LEFT turn, they discovered they had LEFT Mrs. WRIGHT's overnight bag at home. So they made a LEFT turn, then a RIGHT, to go back home where they had LEFT the bag. As they turned RIGHT on to their street, Mrs. WRIGHT said, "Let's just go RIGHT to the hospital and get someone else to pick up the bag we LEFT."

So they went LEFT at the next block and turned RIGHT back around. Finally arriving at the hospital, Mr. WRIGHT pulled up to the front where they LEFT the car and dashed RIGHT in. The hospital staff wheeled Mrs. WRIGHT away. "Where are they taking her?" yelled Mr. WRIGHT. A nurse rushed him RIGHT after her. They headed down the hall and made a LEFT turn, then a RIGHT, and a LEFT again.

Mr. WRIGHT found Mrs. WRIGHT already in delivery. Then he realized that he'd LEFT the video camera in the car. He ran out of the room and RIGHT back where he'd come from. Not only had he LEFT the camera, he discovered, but he'd LEFT the headlights on, too.

Mr. WRIGHT wasted no time; he ran RIGHT back to his wife's room. As Mr. WRIGHT approached the room he could hear her screaming about how he'd LEFT and was nowhere in sight. When Mr. WRIGHT walked in, Mrs. WRIGHT was giving birth RIGHT then and there. Mr. WRIGHT passed out on the floor.

When he came to, he got another shock. There was Mrs. WRIGHT embracing their new little bundles of joy. With two babies on her LEFT side and one on the RIGHT, Mrs. WRIGHT turned to her husband and said, "There weren't just two. The doctor was wrong!"

This Internet site provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use.

This site is published by BabyCenter, L.L.C., which is responsible for its contents as further described and qualified in the Terms of Use.